1. Field of the Present Invention
The present invention is in the field of electronic systems and, more particularly, electronic systems to facilitate shopping experiences.
2. History of Related Art
Conventional customer shopping processes have several drawbacks and inefficiencies. In a conventional shopping process, a customer wanders through aisles stocked with items for sale. When the shopper wants to purchase an item, the shopper takes the item from a shelf and carries the item or places it in a shopping cart. The shopper eventually completes his or her purchases and brings the entire bundle of items to a checkout counter where the items are then removed from the shopping cart so that they can be scanned electronically or otherwise processed for payment. The items are then placed either into a bag or back into the shopping cart. Although not all shopping environments exhibit all of these characteristics, most exhibit at least some of these traits.
The conventional shopping paradigm requires excessive floor space because inventory is maintained in the shopping area. Inventory shrinkage occurs regularly from a number of sources including theft, breakage, mishandling, and so forth. Checkout lines require too much time due in part to the amount of product handling that takes place. The shopping process is not personal to the individual shopper and the shopper, as a result, does not develop a loyal devotion to the store. It would be desirable to implement a shopping environment that addresses these problems.